The Destiny Of Surana
by Samthecrushe
Summary: Most heroes are brave, courageous, strong willed. But Verlis Surana isn't any of those things. She is a young apprentice with strong skills and powers, but little self-confidence. She will soon be thrown into a role of saving the world from darkspawn.
1. Nerves

The Destiny Of Surana

Chapter One: Nerves

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><p>The Harrowing.<p>

The very word sends chills down the spines of the apprentices. A test all apprentices must go through in order to become a full-fledged mage. Some were cocky, thinking they could easily finish the test before the demon could overwhelm them, possessing them. Others were scared, shivering at the thought of facing an unknown enemy. Verlis, on the other hand, was sick to her stomach trying to hold the idea in that she could survive the test.

"Relax, Ver. You'll do fine. You may not have a lot of confidence, but you do have very good skills for an apprentice." Jowan says with a smile. "I hope to do my test soon."

"Do not worry so much, Jowan. You will called soon enough. I am sure of it." Verlis replies, smiling lightly.

Jowan lowers his head, running his fingers through his hair. "I don't know. I've been here longer then you, and it seems like you might be going before me."

A cold chill runs through the air as Verlis hears the words that she might be going into the Harrowing soon. "W-What? I… I am not ready! I… I-I've barely learned enough!" The young elf moves nervously in her chair, running different ways in which she would fail during the test. Jowan reaches over the table, and gently pats her on the hand. "You are over thinking this too much. Yes, you need to be careful during the Harrowing, but I think you are over doing it. Now eat up, your stew is getting cold."

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><p>After saying goodnight to Jowan, Verlis climbed into her bed, hoping for a peaceful rest, but soon found out that would not be so. A rough hand shook her shoulder, arousing her from her sleep. Two templars stood before the elf, and she knew that she was being called to take the Harrowing.<p>

As they walked the halls of the tower, Verlis became aware of the chill that ran through them, the shadows that danced on the wall, as the flames on the torches swayed with the breeze. But what she noticed most of all was the blaring silence. During the day, the halls of the tower were filled with the chatter of mages and apprentices talking away, some for lessons and others just for plain socializing. Being a mage meant a gift to some, but a curse to others. So they are locked up in a tower located in the middle of Lake Calenhad, never allowed to be free in the outside world. Feared by the gifts the Maker gave us, they are chained to forever live in the Circle Tower.

After climbing staircase after staircase, the elf mage and two templars reach the top floor, whereshe guessed the Harrowing will take place. Both the First Enchanter Irving, and Knight-Commander Greagoir were waiting for us along with another pair of templars. Verlis swallows the sickness she felt in her stomach and stepped forward towards the two older men.

"Magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him. Thus spoke the prophet Andraste as she cast down the Tevinter Imperium, ruled by mages who had brought the world to the edge of ruin. Your magic is a gift, but it's also a curse, for demons of the dream realm - the Fade - are drawn to you, and seek to use you as a gateway into this world." The Knight-Commander's voice booms as he paces back and forth in front of the elf.

"The Harrowing is a secret, for a reason, child. During the ritual, you will be sent into the Fade, and face a demon. The only thing that you will be armed with is your will. Every mage must go through this trial. As we have succeeded, so will you." The First Enchanter Irving states, placing a hand on the young mage's shoulder as he speaks.

Knight-Commander stops in front of Verlis, staring the elf straight in the eyes.

"Know this. If you fail to defeat the demon, or take too long. We templars will perform our duty. You will die."

Verlis eyes widen, a lump forming in her throat. The only action she could make to show she understood was nodding her head.

The Knight-Commander ushered Verlis towards a single metal stand, a light blue glow coming from the bowl that the stands supports.

"This is Lyruim. The very essence of magic, the gateway into the Fade. You are ready."

Verlis' body shivers, her hands clenched into fists as she moves towards the glowing. As she dips her hands into the lyruim, she hears the First Enchanter. "Keep your wits about you." The apprentice feels a cold sensation as her fingers touch the magic essence, her vision going blurring. She closes her eyes and prays to the Maker to stay alive during her trial.


	2. The Harrowing

The Destiny Of Surana

Chapter 2: The Harrowing

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><p>When Verlis opened her eyes, she was in a completely different world. The Fade was exactly as the mage pictured it. Ruins of temples, strange statues of creatures she hoped to never encounter. Taking a deep breath, trying to cool her nerves, she remembered the First Enchanter's words. Verlis took her first steps down the dirt path, hoping that at the end of it, she would become a full-fledged mage. As she walks along the path, a few wisps float in the air, the young apprentice believing the spirits to be harmless. But as she got close to the wisps, they violently started to throw bolts of hostile ice. Out of habit, she screams, running out of the way, and down the path, hoping to outrun the creatures. But to her luck, Verlis runs into two more wisps, the creatures to her front and back. A faint voice rings in the air. "Use your spells." Following the voice's advice, the elf uses her given talent, and begins to fight for her survival. With a twist of her body, she calls ice to her hands, and throws bolts at the two wisps to her back. They disappear after a few more attacks, and turning her body once more, she starts to focus on the other two wisps. Throwing a handful of bolts, the wisps too disappear. After the fight, Verlis falls to her knees, breathing heavily. Her body shivers from the chill in the air.<p>

"You are quick good at fighting." The faint voice says. Verlis looks around herself, only spotting a brown rat. She blinks, thinking she is going insane.

A blinding light shots from where the rat once was, and in the rat's spot was a young man in mage robes, standing before her. The man steps towards the elf, extending his hand. Helping her stand up, he has a sad look on his face. "Another sent to face the demon?"

"Excuse me, but… who are you… and are you.. A rat?" Verlis speaks in a low voice.

The mage nods his head. "Yes, that is right. You can call me… Rat."

Verlis blinks, a confused look to her face. "Is that your real name?"

"Luckily, no. I've been in the Fade for so long, I have forgot my real name." He replies. "May I ask you, why were you running away from the wisps a few moments ago? They aren't really terrifying creatures to fight."

The elf laughs lightly, rubbing the back of her neck. "I thought they were peaceful creatures, but learning they weren't, I got scared and ran."

Rat holds back a laugh. "Alright. I should warn you. If you take too long, the templars might think that you are already possessed, and kill you. That's what happened to me."

Verlis nods. "Right. Well, I should go then." She starts walking off when Rat speaks up. "Do you mind if I join you? I lost my chance, but you may have a way of getting out."

The young mage replies. "Of course. I can use all the help."

The two begin to walk down the path, coming to an opening to the right side of the path. Shaped in a circle, flames burst from the ground outside the circle.

"This is where you will meet the demon. He will come from here." Rat whispers, keeping his voice down.

"Should we go in, or…?" She questions. The mage shakes his head. "There are others here who can help you. Other spirits."

"Maybe we should go find them, and ask for some help then." Verlis replies. Rat nods. "Sounds like a good plan."

The two mages once more go farther down the path. After a minute of walking, they come across a templar spirit. Both walk up to the templar, the movement causing the spirit to turn around.

"Ah. Another mage thrown into the Fade to fight the demon. I do not see the point in it. This test does not truly test one's skills. Better to fight against each other."

Verlis swallows hard. "F-fight each other? But… we are no warriors."

The knight sighs deeply. "But still. You are to fight a demon. A test of magical skill. You are still fighting like a warrior."

" Do you think you could help me? Maybe one of those staves behind you." Verlis motions towards the weapons behind the templar as she talks. The elf blushes as she realizes what she has said. "If that is.. Okay.."

"You are not the first to ask, nor will you be the last to. However, if you wish to have one of the weapons behind me, you must fight me, and show me you have the power to defeat the demon." The spirit replies.

"W-What..? F-fight you… but I.. I could never win.." Verlis voices with panic.

The knight shrugs. "Those are the rules."

Verlis paces back and forth, rubbing her forehead. Rat comes up, giving the mage his opinion. "You do not have a lot of time. Fight him. It is the only way to get some help with fighting the demon." The elf sighs. "But I'm not a fighter. I run away, not charge in."

Rat nods his head. "Sometimes, you need to step up, and challenge your fears. That is part of the test."

Verlis stares at the mage, letting his words soak in. With a long sigh, she nods her head. "Alright.. Alright." She walks forward, meeting with the templar. "I will do the… duel that you ask."

The knight nods, pulling out his blade. "Then let us begin."


	3. Pass or Fail

**Sorry for the long wait. Hope you enjoy Chapter 3 of The Destiny of Surana, and let me know what you think. **

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><p>The Destiny Of Surana<p>

Chapter 3: Pass or Fail

The templar's sword crashes to the ground, dust blowing up in the air as the weapon misses Verlis. The elf picks herself up, her senses in overdrive.

"Do not run. Fight." The Knight's voice booms. Verlis swallows hard, nodding her head. "R-right."

Steadying herself, Verlis begins to channel the magic inside her, a burst of flame forming in her hands. Putting both hands together, the flames starts to grow, the power swelling. Just as Verlis is about to throw the fire expending in her hands, she notices a flicker of light. The mage looks up to see that the templar is swinging his sword horizontally at her. Acting on instincts, Verlis lets the fire bolt loose, while at the same time diving down to dodge the attack. The bolt hit's the templar square in the chest, forcing him a few steps back. Neither the mage nor the templar moves, the mage frozen in fear, while the templar stands still, the spot on his armour smoking lightly from the attack.

"Uh… t-templar..? Are you.. okay?" Verlis speaks in a low voice, thinking that she has angered the spirit by dodging his attack, barely fighting back.

A few seconds pass before the templar begins to walk towards the elf, completely silent, and his grip tight on his sword. Verlis begins to crawl backwards, her feet kicking up dust. "F-forgive me! I.. I meant no offence-" She stops dead as the templar points his sword in her face.

"You.." The templar speaks loudly. Verlis begins to panic, her body shivering. "Y-Yes..?"

The templar drops his sword from the mage's face. "You may not have much courage, but you have great power. The power in your last attack was.. tremendous. You are truly gifted." Verlis eyes widened, her breathe stopped short. She had never heard any one other then Jowan refer to her as gifted. All her teachers were strict, picking anything bad they saw in her.

The elf smiles lightly, nodding her head. "T-thank you."

The templar walks over to the stands where the weapons he crafted lay. He picks up a simple stave, no complex design on it, and walks back, handing it to the mage. "Here. It may help you complete your test. In your hands, it just might."

Verlis humbly accepts the stave, bowing her head towards the templar. " Thank you."

"Now go. You may not have much time left." The templar says, turning his back towards the mage.

Verlis nods, pushing herself up with the help of the stave. Mouse joins her after she gets to her feet, a pleased look to his face. "You did it! Wow!"

The two mages walk away from the templar, heading up a small hill towards another spirit, though neither know if it was friendly. After Verlis defeats a few more spirit wolves, they come up to a giant bear, spikes stick up along his back. The elf shrinking away from the beast, hiding behind Mouse.

The animal looks up from his nap, checking out both mages. "Hmm… Is this the mortal being hunted? And the smaller one, a snack?"

"I don't like this. I don't think he wants to help us." Mouse expresses to his companion.

The beast gets up on all fours. " No matter. The demon will get you… And maybe there will be… some left over for me."

Verlis looks over at the beast from behind Mouse. "C-can you… help us…?"

The bear laughs. "Help you. Nothing can help you." The beast sighs, laying back down on the ground like before. "Now be gone. I wish not to be bothered."

Mouse looks the bear over. "You look powerful. Imagine if I could change into something like him."

The beast glances up at Mouse. "You." He once again sighs. " You have left your human form years ago, so yes. I could."

Verlis looks at the bear. "So.. Could you.. T-teach him?"

The bear closes his eyes. " I suppose. But if I am to teach him. You must first answer my riddles. If you cannot, I will not help."

Both mages agree, nodding their heads.

The beast begins his test. "I have seas with no water, coast with no sand, towns without people, mountains without land. What am I?"

Verlis visualizes what the riddle might, coming up with the answer, whispering the answer into the other mage's ear. Mouse speaks up. "A map?"

The beast nods his head slightly, going onto the next riddle. " I'm rarely touched but often held. If you have wit, you'll use me well.

This time, Mouse answers the question. "A temper?"

Once more, the bear nods his head. "Last one. Often will I spin a tale, never will I charge a fee. I'll amuse you an entire eve, but, alas you wont remember me."

Following the question, Verlis herself responses. "A dream?'

The bear sighs deeply, standing up once more. "You have answered all the riddles correct. I will teach you how to become like me."

The elf stands off to the side while the beast teaches Mouse how to become a bear. After a few minutes, Mouse has successful transformed into a bear, but with no spikes like the other.

"You have become like so. Now, be on your way." The beast walks off, probably trying to find another place to rest.

Verlis looks at Mouse, who stands taller next to her. "You look… mighty."

Mouse laughs lightly. "I feel kind of heavy. Ready to go fight the demon?"

The elf freezes up for a moment, getting caught up in the riddles, and lessons. "Ah…"

Verlis bites down on her lip, before letting out a sigh. "I guess so."


	4. Tricked by a Fake

**Sorry for the super long wait! Here is the new chapter! Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 4: Tricked by a Fake<p>

After finishing off the last of the spirit wolves, Verlis and Mouse come back to the spot where the demon is said to appear.

"U-Uh... I don't know… Maybe we should…" Verlis says nervously.

Mouse slams his hand on her back, pushing her forward. "Don't worry. You can do it!"

The mage stumbles forward, almost falling to her knees. She regains her balance, looking forward to see a rage demon appearing out of the ground. Verlis shivers in fear, facing her first demon.

The rage demon lets out a long sigh, before looking up at the mage. "Well well… It's about time."

Verlis slides her hand behind her back, her fingers shaking as she reaches for her weapon, feeling the wooden surface of her staff, her breath heavy. Mouse slips into her bear form, standing at the elf's side, his teeth bearing at the demon.

The demon sighs once more. "I knew I couldn't trust you, Mouse. A few good meals together and then this how you treat me. How very rude. Well, I will just deal with you both." He then roars his loud voice, charging at the two.

Verlis can help but let out a high pitched scream, dodging to the side as the demon throws a flaming bolt of fire in her direction. Mouse charges from the left, hoping to catch the demon off-guard. The demon notices the bear coming, but is too late, as he is rammed by the creature, thrown several feet from where he was originally standing.

The elf mage stares in awe as Mouse continues to fight against the demon. Her grip on the staff tightens, her facial expression turning sour. "I am such a coward… No good at all… I... I got to fight! Fight!" She gathers her courage, and focus, as she forms an ice spell in her hands. "Take this, you stupid… monster…!" Verlis throws the bolt of ice at the demon, once more catching the demon off-guard as he is fighting two people at once. The spell hits the rage demon directly in the chest, causing her to freeze up, and shatter. The ice pieces fall to the ground, both Mouse and Verlis falling to their knees as they both caught their breathe.

Mouse cracks a smile, looking over at Verlis. "Nice going. Pretty powerful spell you casted. It was enough in one shot to kill him."

Verlis smiles lightly, looking back at him. "I… I… it was thank to you, that we defeated him." She looks the mage straight in the eyes, a confused look to her eyes." But what was the demon going on about before? Were you helping him... earlier with other mages to defeat them, and… eat them…?"

Cracking an even bigger smile, Mouse shakes his head. "Don't worry about that. All you need to worry about is that you defeated the demon, and you passed your test." A dark look comes crawling onto his face." But maybe you could help me get back to the real world? I've been in the Fade for so long."

"But… I don't know if I can help you… The only way I could is if I let you… inside of me…" Verlis replies quietly, taking a couple steps back from the other mage. "The rage demon wasn't my real test… was he?"

Mouse bows his head, an evil smirk forming on his face, his voice going deeper in tone. "You're a smart one. Simple killing is a warrior's job." He takes a few steps towards the elf, his eyes always watching her. But just as he steps right in front of her, his form starts to change, his skin changing darker and rougher. His black eyes look down at the mage, his facial expression blank as he towers over the mage. "Keeps your wits about you, mage. True tests never end."

A flash of light erupts from Mouse, Verlis extending her hand in front of her face to block out the light, but to no success, as she blacks out.


End file.
